ODV-online Getting Started

Reiner Schlitzer, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, GERMANY ([email protected])

This document contains important information for getting started with the ODV-online data
analysis and visualization tool. Please familiarize yourself with the elements of the interface
and the crucial role of mouse positioning as well as left and right mouse clicking. ODV-online
is designed to mimic the interface of the Ocean Data View software (https://odv.awi.de)
very closely. Previous ODV users will find it easy to start working with ODV-online.

ODV-online runs on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge (v79 or higher) and other modern
browsers on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. Microsoft Internet
Explorer is not supported.

Important note: On MacOS systems the Secondary click feature of the trackpad or mouse
must be enabled (System preferences > Trackpad) and used to trigger right-click events.
Pressing Ctrl+Click does not work, and context menus will not show up.

User Interface

Interactivity
Left-clicking on station and sample locations selects the respective station or sample,
while right-clicking on elements provides context menus with options for the
manipulation of the clicked element.
Metadata of the current station, data of the current sample, and isosurface values for the
current station are shown in the list windows on the right.

1
Interactive zooming, Z-zooming and point getter operations work by dragging the active
edges or corners of the zoom boxes and by left-clicking a sequence of points. To
terminate zoom and point getter operations, you click the Apply or Cancel buttons in the
status bar or press the Enter or Esc keyboard keys.

Clickable metadata, data or info values, such as links to cruise reports, info files or other
types of documents, are opened in a separate browser tab. You return to your ODV-
online session by clicking on the respective browser tab.

Tooltips
Popup boxes showing more detailed information appear automatically if you rest the
mouse over the ODV icon, the collection name in the title bar or over a variable name in
the lists on the right side of the window.

Views
All data collections come with sets of prepared views on the data. Activating one of these
views via View > Load View is the easiest way to get started with the exploration of the
data. You can modify the view and save the modifications via View > Save View As and
specifying a descriptive name, e.g., Oxygen_at_500m. Modified views are saved on your
computer as part of your browser’s data and will exist until you clear the browser data. If
you are using ODV-online after login (e.g., as a named user), your modified views are
saved on our server and will persist, even after clearing your browser data. Saved views
appear as private views in the Load View trees. These views are invisible to other users.

Image files

High-resolution image files of the entire canvas, a particular data window or the map are
obtained by right-clicking on the canvas (white background area) or the particular
window and choosing Save Canvas As (or Save Plot As / Save Map As). A file save dialog
will open, which lets you choose target directory and file name of the image file on your
computer.

Close
Choose View > Close Session or close the browser tab to close your ODV-online session.
Your last view settings are automatically saved and will be restored when you return. A
session is automatically terminated after 60 minutes of inactivity.
Further reading
Detailed hands-on procedures for creating different kinds of graphics can be found in the
ODV-online HowTo document. In-depth information about Ocean Data View can be
found in the ODV User’s Guide and at https://odv.awi.de/documentation/.

2
Types of Data Windows
In addition to the station map, ODV-online supports four types of data windows: STATION,
SCATTER, SECTION and SURFACE. Examples are shown in the figure below.

STATION data windows provide X/Y plots showing only the data of stations belonging to the
pick list of the map. Stations are drawn with different symbol and color. You add the current
station to the pick list by pressing the + (plus) button, or remove it by pressing the - (minus)
button. Arbitrary data variables can be assigned to the X and Y axes. For easy identification,
picked stations are marked in the map using the same symbol and color as in the data
windows.
SCATTER data windows show the data of all stations currently shown in the map. SCATTER
plots provide overviews over potentially very large data sets, and are particularly suited for
data quality control. SCATTER windows can have a Z variable, in addition to variables on X
and Y. Values of the Z variable determine the colors drawn at given X/Y data locations.
SECTION data windows show the data of all stations belonging to the section currently
defined in the map, e.g., all stations inside the red section band. Sections are defined or
modified using the Manage Section options of the map context menu. SECTION data
windows are used to show along-track distributions or X/Y/Z plots for the stations inside the
current section band.
SURFACE data windows show isosurface values, such as Phosphate @ Depth [m] = 250, for
all stations in the map.

A data window of any kind with Longitude and Latitude assigned to X and Y becomes a map,
and inherits map properties, such as projection or coastline and bathymetry settings, from
the station map. To change map properties of the data window you must modify the
properties of the station map.

3
Data windows with Z-variables (SCATTER, SECTION and SURFACE) can show the data in two
ways: (1) by placing colored dots at the X/Y locations (this is the default; see SCATTER
window above) or (2) as continuous gridded fields, estimated on the basis of the observed
data (see SECTION and SURFACE windows above). Gridded fields can be color shaded and/or
contoured. Users may choose among three gridding algorithms; DIVA
(http://modb.oce.ulg.ac.be/mediawiki/index.php/DIVA) is the recommended method.

Canvas Layout
ODV-online canvas layouts always contain a station map. The map can be moved and
resized, but not deleted. In addition, layouts may also contain an unlimited number of data
windows. Predefined layout templates containing various types and numbers of data
windows can be chosen via View > Layout Templates.
Size and position of the station map or a given data window on the canvas are modified by
right-clicking on the respective window and choosing an option from the Layout sub-menu.
You add a new data window by right-clicking the canvas (white area between map and data
windows) or a data window and choosing Layout > Create New Window.

Properties of the station map or the data windows are modified by right-clicking on the
respective window and choosing the Properties option. Examples of such changes are
explained in the ODV-online HowTo document.

Station and Sample Filters

A wide range of station and sample filters can be applied to the station map and each data
window individually to subset the number of stations shown in the map or the number of
samples shown in a given data window. You invoke these filters via the map or the data
window context menus and choosing Station Filter or Sample Filter.

Station filtering can be by cruise and station names, date/time ranges, seasons, data
availability or meta variable values. Sample filtering can be by data quality or specified range
for given data variables, such as depth or pressure. Examples of filter usage are explained in
the ODV-online HowTo document.

Derived Variables
In addition to the data variables stored in the data collections (basic data variables), ODV-
online can calculate a large number of derived variables on demand. Once defined, these
derived variables are available for analysis and visualization in the same way as the basic
data variables. Derived variables can be added, edited or deleted via View > Derived
Variables.

4
Exporting Data
The data of the current station set shown in the map as well as X/Y/Z data of given data
windows can be exported and transmitted to the user’s computer via the Export main menu.
For the Data export users can select the output format (ASCII spreadsheet, ODV collection,
or netCDF) and subset the number of meta- and data variables, for which output is
requested. In addition, a sample filter can be applied to the export, for instance when only
good quality data or data for a given depth range should be exported.

Window Data are always exported as ASCII spreadsheet containing the X / Y / Z data of the
window in separate columns. Additional columns containing station metadata are included
on request. In case the given data window is using gridding, gridding misfits at the data
locations or the estimated values at the grid nodes can be exported.

5
Common Trackpad, Mouse and Keyboard Actions

Select stations or samples

Action Object Response

Left-Click Map Selects the closest station as current station.

Data Window Selects the closest sample as current sample and the parent station as
current station.

Shift Left-Click Map Selects the closest station as current station. Allows selection from a list,
if multiple stations are at the same location.
Data Window Selects the closest sample as current sample. Allows selection from a list,
if multiple samples are at the same location.

Left-Double- Map Selects the closest station as current station and adds the station to the
Click pick list. This adds the data of the station to STATION data windows.

+ key press Adds the current station to the pick list. This adds the data of the station
to STATION data windows.

- key press Removes the current station from the pick list. This removes the data of
the station from STATION data windows.

Main and context menus

All ODV-online functionality is accessed via dropdown menus that open when the mouse is over one of the main
menu items on the right side of the title bar or when a right-click occurs on the canvas, station map, a data
window, or a list window on the right side. Some menu items have sub-menus that open when the mouse is over
the parent menu item. A menu option is chosen by left-clicking it. Menus disappear automatically when an
option is chosen, or a left click occurs anywhere in the browser window.

Dialogs
Many clicked menu options, bring up dialogs that are used for modifying settings of station map, data window or
station and sample filters. Any changes made by the user are applied when the Apply button in the lower left
corner of the dialog is clicked. Changes are discarded by clicking the x button in the top-right corner, by a left
click anywhere in the browser window, or pressing the Esc key.

6
Quick-zoom into map or data window
Move the mouse to a corner of the desired final zoom box in the map or any data window, press and hold down
the Ctrl key, also press and hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to the desired opposite zoom
box corner. Release Ctrl key and left mouse button.

Zoom into map, data window or color bar of a data window

Initiate the zoom operation by right-clicking the map or data window, then choose the Zoom or Z-Zoom option.
Drag the active edges or corners of the zoom box to change the size of the box. Move the mouse inside the box
and drag the box to the desired location. Terminate the zoom operation and accept the new x/y ranges (z range
in case of Z-Zoom) by clicking the Apply button in the status bar, pressing the Enter key, or double-clicking
anywhere on the canvas. Abort the zoom operation and leave the x/y/z ranges unmodified by clicking the Cancel
button in the status bar or pressing the Esc key.

Full domain map and full range data window

Enlarge the map domain to the full domain of the given data collection by right-clicking on the map and choosing
Full Domain. Enlarge the X/Y/Z ranges of a given data window to encompass all data values by right-clicking on
the data window and choosing Full Range. Right-click on the canvas and choose Full Range All Windows to set all
data windows to full range.

Manage sections
ODV-online sections are bands of certain width that follow given ship or instrument tracks. Once defined, all
stations inside the section band are included in SECTION-type data windows, stations outside the section band
are excluded. A section is defined, loaded, saved, removed, or its properties changed via right-clicking on the
station map and choosing one of the options the Manage Section sub-menu.

For defining a new section spine choose Manage Section > Define Section. Note that the Get Points mode is
entered and the cursor changed to cross-hair. Move the cursor to the intended start of the section and left-click
the mouse. Follow the track towards the end and left-click repeatedly until you reach the end of the section.
Make sure to click and add points where track orientation changes. Terminate section definition by clicking the
Apply button in the status bar, by pressing the Enter key, or by defining the last point using a left double-click.
Abort section definition by clicking the Cancel button in the status bar, or by pressing the Esc key.

Note that the same Get Points procedures are also used to define station filter polygons or for drawing line,
polyline or polygon graphics objects.

On the Section Properties dialog choose one the available Section Coordinates and, if necessary, adjust the Mean
Width, the source of the section bathymetry data and the bathymetry color. You may also specify a section
name. Then click Apply. Note the section band appearing in the map. The section properties can be modified at
any time via Manage Section > Properties. If you anticipate using the same section again later, save the section
as a named section via Manage Section > Save Section As. Saved sections can be loaded via Manage Section >
Load Section. Choose Manage Section > Remove Section to remove the section from the map. Note that SECTION
data windows will remain empty until you define or load another section.

7
Define isosurface variables
Isosurface variables are special quantities that describe the values of a variable (display variable) on a specific
isosurface. Examples of isosurfaces are layers of constant depth or density (isopycnals). ODV-online allows
definition of an unlimited number of such isosurface variables via View > Isosurface Variables. Before defining
isopycnals, define a potential density derived variable first.

On the Isosurface Variables dialog compose a new isosurface variable in the New box, and click Add to add this
to the list of Already Defined variables. Delete existing isosurface variables by selecting variables in the Already
Defined list and pressing Delete.

You use isosurface variables on the X, Y, and Z axes of SURFACE data windows.